


Roses for You (Matsuhana)

by AshenFeathers



Series: i'm not crying you're crying [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Bet you didn't see that coming either, Beta Read, By my friend who doesn't read manga, F/M, Hanahaki Disease, Hanamaki is an introvert, M/M, Or watch anime, POV Hanamaki Takahiro, Sad Ending, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, bet you didn't see that coming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27471949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshenFeathers/pseuds/AshenFeathers
Summary: His best friend held up the slightly flattened box, the delicate aroma of custard wafting from the gaps in the cardboard.'You seemed pretty out of it today, so I brought you food. Creampuffs make everything better, right?'
Relationships: Hanamaki Takahiro & Iwaizumi Hajime, Hanamaki Takahiro & Matsukawa Issei, Hanamaki Takahiro & Oikawa Tooru, Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Matsukawa Issei/Original Female Character(s), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: i'm not crying you're crying [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852954
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	Roses for You (Matsuhana)

**Author's Note:**

> Matsuhana is one of the best ships in Haikyuu, and I'm sorry for the angst.
> 
> This will be my longest oneshot/chapter ever (seriously I went from barely 3000 words on a good day to more than double that amount), so I don't know how it'll turn out from another person's point of view.
> 
> Comments and kudos much appreciated, arigato!
> 
> (You can see I switched stuff so it'll be more convenient for me, like Mattsun's in the same class as Makki here, not 1. Don't come at me :P)

Hanamaki walked alone to school, stinging needles blown into his uncovered face at an unrelenting pace. He cursed himself quietly for forgetting his scarf and tried to stuff his head into his coat like a turtle. His breaths fogged the air in front of him, and he shivered at a particularly fierce gust of wind.

The closer he got to the gates, the more schoolmates he saw in chattering pairs or groups, similarly braving the cold to get to class.

The school year is almost done, the brown-haired boy told himself, you'll get to Aoba Johsai soon enough, then you can enjoy not having to walk for ages everyday.

The blissful coziness of the working thermostat in the classroom was welcoming and Hanamaki relaxed into his rock hard seat in the middle of the classroom.

Few heads acknowledged him as he looked around, most too absorbed in their own little circles. Sato nodded slightly at him from the front before returning to his textbook and notes.

Sighing, he slumped onto his backpack for a quick doze before the teacher came in with that year's final exam results.

'Hanamaki Takahiro,' He slouched to the front, accepted his report card and returned to his seat soundlessly, giving the printed numbers a quick once-over. Alright grades, good enough to be in the top percentile, but not enough to be labelled a nerd or granted access to the smart kids group.

The teacher droned on, even though they were watching a film, she still managed to make it boring by choosing a documentary about fold mountains, pausing it at random intervals to quiz students about the things they had long forgotten in favour of making plans for christmas vacation.

Flicking his eyes to the clock every few minutes or so, the brunette sighed again.

'Takahiro-kun, which direction does the Eurasian plate move in?'

He sighed for the umpteenth time, half-rising from the claustrophobic space between chair and desk, 'South-west, sensei.'

Thank god school lasted for just half a day. Hanamaki went straight home for lunch and a long nap, the afternoon sun's shining rays warming him up just a little. It was still cold though.

-

Orientation day was complete utter chaos. Hanamaki knew no one at all, the few students from his junior high weren't even his acquaintances, and he was just trapped in the midst of screaming and laughing friends.

Ducking towards one of the only empty spaces, too-early relief to be out of the sea of jostling people flooded him, and it dissipated soon when he crashed into someone's hard, muscled back.

'Sorry,' He muttered to the standard school schoes and tried to move away, looking for another safe haven.

'Nah, it's okay, it's too crowded here. Hey, wait! What's your name?' A hand caught his shoulder.

He turned, the first thing that registered were the triangular, dark, bushy eyebrows.

Surprised anyone would bother asking, he replied, 'Hanamaki Takahiro.'

Eyebrows grinned, 'Matsukawa Issei, nice to meet you.'

'Nice meeting you too, Matsukawa-san,' the brunette nodded and let a ghost of a smile peek through just for politeness' sake before joining the crowd again.

'Wait! Sorry for hounding you, but I'm the only one from my previous school here, and I kind of... don't know anyone. So, maybe we can be friends?'

A moment's hesitation.

'Okay,' Hanamaki wasn't sure what being friends consisted of, but his mom went on and on about how great they were, and how he should probably get a few. It couldn't be that bad anyways.

-

It was bad.

'Matsukawa-san, I really don't think-' 'Come on, it'll be fun! You're pretty tall, you can be a middle blocker with me.' Matsukawa was taller than the already taller than average Hanamaki, something he couldn't quite wrap his head around yet. The other proceeded to scribble Hanamaki's name (wrongly) onto the volleyball club signup sheet and bounced away, leaving him to sigh and fill in the rest of the columns with his class, class number and contact information.

That was how he was coerced into joining a sports team by someone he just met.

When school actually started, Matsukawa yanked him out of his chosen seat in the middle, stuffed him into the back row, and filled the air with chatter the quiet boy wasn't quite used to. To add to Hanamaki's distress, Matsukawa _included him_ in the conversation, asking him questions and pausing at random points to observe his reactions. The talking didn't stop during class either, though it was lowered to a whisper, and no amount of pointed ignoring could make him stop.

That was how his old habits of sitting in the middle and paying attention to make a good impression were broken.

During lunch, Matsukawa pulled out his phone to show him memes and instagram posts, laughing and choking on his food, then stopping to explain the newest trends to the confused Hanamaki. He then stole his phone to key in his number for daily doses of memes and jokes. Makki did not know why he tolerated his annoying presence, nor did he understand the colorful combinations of pictures and captions. But they were replenished twice as fast as he could delete them.

That was how he found his brain, phone and instagram feed overflowed with useless information that made absolutely no sense. Oh, and he had instagram now.

In volleyball practice, Matsukawa were firm friends with the other first years within ten minutes. Hanamaki thought that meant he would get a break, but he was introduced and welcomed as if they had known him their entire lives. There was Oikawa, an amazing setter, even Hanamaki's inexperienced eyes saw how every movement was perfect. Iwaizumi, whose eyes shined with pride at Oikawa's serves and sets, but scowled and smacked his head whenever the other turned to look at him for praise. Yuda, Sawauchi and Shido already knew each other, like Oikawa and Iwaizumi, and were fairly good. Sawauchi was new to volleyball as well, and often practiced the basics with Hanamaki.

That was how he got, not only one, but a whole horde of annoying friends.

After a few weeks, Matsukawa invited himself over to Hanamaki's place when they were walking back. His parents were overjoyed. Matsukawa was overjoyed. Hanamaki was not overjoyed and snuck around taking down embarrassing photos. ('Matsukawa-san, please don't take pictures.') Why did he think being friends was a good idea again? But there was just something that drew him in. His parents seemed to like him, so he stuck around.

That was how he stopped his parents' nagging and worrying about his social life.

One day, four of the first years, namely Hanamaki, Matsukawa, Oikawa and Iwaizumi, were out for ramen on a sunny saturday. They passed by a hair salon with an array of colorful wigs at the window. Matsukawa joked about how Hanamaki would look amazing with pink hair, and how it fitted perfectly with his name - 'hana' meant flower. In a moment of completely out-of-character courage and recklessness, Hanamaki barged into the shop and asked for a neon pink dye. (He chickened out in the end and settled for a milder pink closer to his original brown.)

That was how he got his unusual hair. Needless to say, his parents weren't very pleased about it, but plenty pleased about his slowly coming out of his shell.

It was just a lazy afternoon practice, the captain and coach were feeling generous and let them have a picnic under giant tree in the courtyard after a few drills. Hanamaki, feeling content and relaxed with the amount of cream puffs he'd been stuffing down his throat, joined in their friendly banter and joking, referencing a few vines Matsukawa had showed him before. The conversation trickled to a halt as they all turned to stare at him. Matsukawa was the first to break the silence, 'Ayyy, that's my Makki, I knew never leaving you alone was a good idea.' He put the newly christened Makki into a loose headlock and messed up his hair. ('He talks?!' Oikawa was immediately buried under a barrage of punches.)

That was how he finally opened up and left his antisocial, silent junior high self behind, all thanks to Matsukawa, now nicknamed Mattsun. It was like he was living for the first time, actually enjoying his life instead of just existing in a dull black and white world.

Maybe being friends with Matsukawa Issei wasn't so bad after all.

-

Soon, it was as if Makki was born the pink-haired menace he was now. Paired with Mattsun, they were formidable, especially now that they've spent more than a year together, studying, procrastinating, playing volleyball. And Makki was _happy_.

Anyone who were even remotely familiar with Matsukawa Issei and Hanamaki Takahiro knew they were the ultimate dream meme team, 'Mattsun and Makki'.

Anyone who had just met them would've immediately assumed they were childhood bestfriends, and not people who just met at the start of high school. After all, no other two people could have the same level of comfort between them, no other duo could be so in sync.

There were no other as mean to Oikawa as they were either, except perhaps Iwa-chan.

'What happened to you, Makki? When did my sweet, quiet Hanamaki get corrupted by evil Mattsun?' Oikawa whined, hanging off Makki's back and nearly dragging him down onto the rough concrete ground.

'Now, now, Oikawa, you're just jealous Makki couldn't resist my handsome face.' Mattsun picked Oikawa up as one would pick up a cat and set him down on the floor.

'What handsome face? I see only eyebrows.' Makki snarked, grinning good-naturedly.

'Says the poor sucker who has practically none. Jealousy is not a good look on you my dear.' He slung an arm around slim shoulders and stared into his face mischievously, waggling said eyebrows.

The pink-haired wing spiker balked at the mere _closeness_ of it. It certainly wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last, their bro-ship consisted of 60% jokes, 5% pranking Oikawa and 35% physical contact, whether it was just walking side-by-side with their fingertips brushing, or noogies and mock fights, or the bro-hug things with the hand slapping and back pounding and whatever it is, or even napping on each other during train rides or lunch.

But this time it had him frozen, all he could see were Mattsun's heavy-lidded dark eyes twinkling at him, tanned skin shining in the sunlight, and his lips, stretched over slightly uneven and chipped front teeth in a grin.

_He's so pretty._

_I want to kiss him._

Makki's eyes widened, instinct making him push his best friend off and scramble away. His breaths were heavy as he tried to calm his racing heart and stifle the horror growing in his heart.

_I'm screwed._

'Makki?'

_Officially_ _, royally screwed._

'Do you not want me anymore?' Mattsun gave him his biggest puppy eyes and pouted.

'G-Get off me you big lump.' He stuttered in a mock playful tone, smiling half-heartedly to mask his sudden revelation.

Both his friends looked at him weirdly, 'Are you okay, Makki?'

'OI! Coach wants us back in the gym,' Iwaizumi stuck his head out of the window and hollered.

'Just peachy,' Makki gasped out, and escaped back to the gym where they would be too busy to talk to him. Oikawa had Yahaba and keeping his claws on the starting setter position to be preoccupied with, and Mattsun had to coach a new kohai after all.

When did he start feeling that way? Was that why he stuck to Mattsun all that time? It couldn't have been, right? Hanamaki couldn't concentrate at all and received quite a few volleyballs, with his face.

After practice, he was at his front door, picking through his keychain to find the right one.

'Maaakkkiiiii! Wait up!' He saw Mattsun running towards him, duffel bag and backpack flying behind him.

'W-watch it, Mat,' He leaned backwards to avoid the swinging bag-slash-, 'You're gonna kill someone with that.'

'Nonsense,' Mattsun grabbed the keys and picked out the correct one within ten seconds, 'Ta-da~ Welcome, Hanamaki Takahiro, to the Hanamaki household.'

'What do you want?' He screwed up his nose at him, hoping he wouldn't notice the pink of his cheeks.

His best friend held up the slightly flattened box, the delicate aroma of custard wafting from the gaps in the cardboard.

'You seemed pretty out of it today, so I brought you food. Creampuffs make everything better, right?'

 _Not this time, why are you suddenly being so sweet anyways? Totally not helping._ Makki complained to himself, but putting on a wide smile, he snatched the desserts. He couldn't say no to the delicious treats, nor could he refuse Mattsun's beaming face.

'Yup, definitely. Just for me though, since they're all mine now.'

'What? No! I bought them!' He lunged for the puffs, tripping over his feet and nearly crashing into Makki.

Waving them high in the air, the hopelessly blushing male tried to fend him off with one arm. Mattsun dodged and tickled Makki's sides, sending him into peals of laughter and making him drop the box.

'Stop!' They both fell over, right on top of the pastries, with a disgusting squish. The two squabbling high schoolers paused mid-tickle and mid-laugh.

'Whoops.'

Hanamaki realized Mattsun was sprawled awkwardly on top of him. Suddenly aware of how close they were for the second time that day, a flush started to creep up his ears and face, he started squirming, 'You're weigh a ton, lemme up!'

In an attempt to distract himself and cool his reddened cheeks, Makki picked up his ruined desserts, dabbed a finger into the exposed custard filling and stuck it in his mouth.

'Eewwwwww...'

'What? It's still good.'

-

Makki was in serious trouble. Every small thing Mattsun did, the way he ran a hand through dark curls when trying to make sense of Morinozuka-sensei's notes, the way his eyes squinted when he smiled, the way he tugs at the hem of his shirt after a joke as if anxious to see their response, the way he always initiated contact with fist bumps, hugs, pinches. Everything tiny habit, so familiar that Hanamaki never paid attention to them, were blown in his face at full force. And everytime, it just made his crush, his hopeless crush on his _straight_ best friend, worse and worse.

It wasn't long before someone noticed how the way he acted around Matsukawa underwent another subtle shift.

His comments and expressions were too cheery, his actions ever so slightly hesitant whenever the other was near.

Their frequent touches grew fewer and further between, Makki was always quick to pull away.

'Did you and Mattsun have a fight? That can't be it since he's acting normal, but you've been weird all week.' Iwaizumi peered at him concernedly, a soft frown crinkling his brows.

'We're fine,' Another false grin, 'Did any of you catch what Kato-sensei said about amino acids in class?'

Oikawa pointed at his face, 'Don't change the subject, Makki-chan.'

'Seriously, we're fine. And I really do need those notes from biology.'

'I can lend you those afterschool.'

He slumped on his cafeteria bench with a sigh of relief, thank the gods for Iwaizumi, he made a mental note to start studying for the quiz taking place two days later. A genuine smile tugged at his lips.

'Aha! There's my Makki's real smile!' A certain chocolate-haired setter leapt to his feet. 'That fake one really had me worried, you know.'

'Wha- I do not have a fake smile, all my smiles are real!'

'You don't smile with your eyes at all when you fake it.'

'Eyes don't smile, Oikawa.'

'Yes they do, when it's a real one.'

'They're eyes, they can't smile! Why would I fake smile anyways?'

'How am I supposed to know? Maybe when you don't find Mattsun's jokes funny but you still feel obligated to? You don't think the girls Mattsun points out are pretty? You... Wait, come to think about it, your fake smile always comes out when you're around Mattsun, or when we're talking about him, like just now!' Oikawa squinted at his milk bread in concentration, the gears in his head most definitely turning at high speed.

'You like him don't you?'

'No I don't. Why would you think that?' He groaned inwardly at his shrill, too-quick response.

'Oh my gods, you do!'

Makki had his tomato red face in his hands, knowing that any protest would just be interpreted as further confirmation.

Back with a school lunch tray, Mattsun tilted his head curiously, 'What's happening here?'

'Just Makki-chan's cr-'

Makki tackled Oikawa, slapping a hand over his mouth.

'Nothing much, just creampuffs, I'm planning on making creampuffs later.'

'Don't we have a test on Thursday?'

-

'Why are we at the florist's?' The overly sweet aroma of the thousands of colorful blooms hit Makki's nose, making him gag and cover his nose with a pale hand.

Mattsun shoved a pink bouquet in his face, 'To buy flowers of course.'

'What for?' He slapped it away, blinking guiltily when a number of petals floated to the ground.

'You know Kyouya Haruka from the next class?' He nodded, who didn't? The sweet, pretty, rising star of the field hockey team, with her good-natured expressions and straight caramel hair always neatly gathered into a ponytail.

'I'm gonna ask her out, and you, my flower roll, are gonna help me pick these out!' He smiled widely, eyes sparkling with hope and young love.

A loud roaring filled his ears, drowning out the soft music playing in the shop, as he stared at his completely sincere friend, and felt his heart plummet, crash and burn in his painfully tight chest.

'I-I didnt know you liked her.'

'Mmhmm, have for a few months now.'

'And I'm hearing of this _now_?' His voice sounded forced even to himself.

'I talked about my previous crushes a lot back in junior high, and none of them worked out, so I'm trying a different approach.'

'You're telling me.'

'You're my best bro, how could I keep it from you? Plus I'm confessing tomorrow anyways, help me with this? Please?'

He carefully inspected a blue cornflower, mumbling stuff about flower languages and how her favorite color was supposedly blue under his breath, oblivious to Makki's too bright eyes.

'Okay...'

-

Monday was when the volleyball club takes a break from training. And Makki was at home, sitting cross legged on his bed, completely still save for the gentle rise and fall of his shoulders.

His eyes were closed, eyelids fluttering ever so slightly, tiny droplets of salt water clung to the long lashes.

Silently, he willed his emotions to calm, his breathing to soothe, his mind to blank.

It was a familiar practice to him, this was how every frustration, every bad mood, every worry he had over the years were dealt with, efficiently and quickly.

But much like how Mattsun plastered the blank walls of his room in polaroids, photos, posters and post-it note doodles. Much like how he came barging in, shaking the very foundation of his well-ordered life and filling it with strange, new things along with fun and laughter. His old ways of coping were no longer effective when it came to his friend.

Nothing he did could make his traitorous brain stay away from the other boy and the confession that was surely already taking place. Perhaps it would even be over by now.

His mind turned to his imagination to make up scenarios, each more painful than the last, to answer a question he didn't want the answer to.

His phone buzzed next to him, indicating a new text, distracting him from the weird feeling he had had for a few days now.

 **Eyebrows-**  
I did it!!!!!!!!   
[photo2536.jpeg attached]   
She loved the roses, so they werent coming on too strong after all  
Take that, Makki   
Were going out for icecream! ;)

It was a selfie of Mattsun's joyous and his new girlfriend's red but equally excited expressions as they squished together to fit into the small screen. They even used one of those lovey-dovey couple filters with the pink blushes and floating hearts.

Makki's efforts to contain his emotions spluttered and failed, and the tears that had been gathering in his eyes flowed freely down his face.

Each shuddering breath shook his shoulders, clenched hands rubbing furiously at his damp cheekbones. And when the tears refused to stop, he curled in on himself among the blankets, and let them fall. The way he cried was unusually soundless, the whistling of the afternoon breeze through the window gap easily covering the soft sobs.

When they finally subsided, Makki sat up sniffling and reaching for a tissue. He swallowed, trying to stop the hiccups, feeling something lodged in his airway. He cleared his throat a few times, and went in search of a glass of water.

And instead of water, he found his friends trying to climb in through the living room window.

'What are you guys doing?' He specifically stared at the carpet, knowing his telltale face was puffy from crying just moments ago.

Iwaizumi looked shifty, fidgeting with the edge of his shirt and refusing to look him in the eye. Oikawa just looked indignant, 'Looking for you of course! You wouldn't answer the door so we had no choice but to sneak in.'

'Why, may I ask?'

'We saw Mattsun's message.' He held out his phone, showing him the Seijou Volleyball group chat with his messages and their replies.

 **Oikawa-sama-**  
You're kidding, she's wayyyyyy out of your league Mattsun!! :pppp

 **Iwaizumi Hajime-**  
SHUT UP TRASHYKAWA  
Congrats Mattsun!

 **Oikawa-sama-**  
Iwaaaaaaa-chaannn, you know you love me (づ￣ ³￣)づ

 **Sawasawa-**  
Awwwwww, you two look adorable!!

 **Ikickyour** **Shins-**  
（♡▽♡）

'I'm fine, as you can see, you can leave now.' The unpleasant ticklish sensation rose in his throat again and he let out another soft cough to soothe it. 'I just needed some water.'

'You're obviously not fine-' Oikawa started heatedly, moving to move his remaining leg into the house and walk towards him.

'Crappykawa,' Iwaizumi cut him off with a hand on his shoulder, 'We should leave. We came to check on him, and he says he's okay.'

'But-'

'Come on, Kawa.'

Makki sent the shorter male a grateful glance.

'We're here for you, Makki, no matter how sappy that might sound,' And with an answering smile, Iwaizumi dragged Oikawa away with the promise of milk bread.

The uncomfortable feeling was getting stronger, causing a few more loud coughs as his body tried to get whatever it was out of his system.

Even after a large gulp of water, it still remained. An especially hacking cough suddenly displaced the intruding object and Makki spat it out.

A single soggy pink petal lay in the palm of his hand.

_Did_ _I_ _accidentally swallow one of Mattsun's flower petals?_

At that, he doubled over with another explosive sound.

_Or two._

Shaking his head to clear it, Makki fist tightened on the edge of the countertop. He was going to be just fine, it's just a crush, he'll get over it. It might take some time since Mattsun was his best friend and he saw him everyday and he was so stupidly endearing, but he'll be _just_ _fine_.

Returning to his room and the cursed phone, he tapped out a reply with trembling fingers.

 **Makkipuff-**  
Congrats Mat!!! :) the violets were still a better choice though

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! The second part will be hopefully posted soon, I'm about a third done with it.
> 
> If there are any clarifications you want, just put it in the comments and I'll reply as soon as I see it! :)
> 
> Some shameless self-promotion:  
> [ @ashenfeatheredwings ](https://www.instagram.com/ashenfeatheredwings/) on instagram  
> I post my fan art and comics there! :) I do traditional drawing though, never was much good with digital, maybe I'll do better if I ever get supplies that aren't my tiny phone screen with the poorly applied screen protector, Sony Sketch, and fat fingers  
> [ im not crying youre crying ](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852954) is the angst oneshot collection this is part of
> 
> Again, I hope you liked it :)


End file.
